Category Archives for "Panasonic"

Why price is not the most important factor
when purchasing imaging hardware

When shopping for new imaging hardware, many customers look at their budget and let that dictate their purchase. Now I understand that budget is an important factor, however over the last 9 years working with imaging customers, many have purchased equipment based mainly on price – only to discover that it did not meet their long term growth needs.

So in light of these discussions, here is bits of wisdom that can be used as a checklist when considering new purchases:

Is Speed important – scanners are classed by Pages per Minute (PPM). How fast do you need the scanner to scan?

How much volume are you expecting to scan per day, week or month? Volume and speed is determined by the manufacturer when they develop the scanner.

Manufacturers group their scanners into categories based on PPM and the Daily Duty Cycle (DDC). DDC is how many images the scanner can handle on a daily basis. So if you have a large volume of scanning to be completed on a daily basis, a small desktop workgroup scanner will not be sufficient for the volume – it would break down all the time. Here are the general groupings that manufacturers use:

We all know that document imaging demonstrates the capacity of “going green” just by definition. It is inherent in concept. Technology expands so quickly and in the world of document imaging hardware, there lies no exception. The most respected manufacturers like Fujitsu, Kodak, and Canon make the entire scanning process, from pre-scanning to post scanning, more automated and efficient for the end user, while also providing the latest in document imaging features and functionalities.

A couple examples of some of these particular technological advancements take are new LED’s replacing traditional lamps in scanners as well as production scanners with smaller footprints. For instance, LED technology is featured in the Kodak/Bell &Howell Ngenuity as well as the new Fujitsu fi-6800 production scanner. LED technology helps significantly reduce the scanner’s power consumption during operation and as well as in “sleep mode.” Also, LED’s are designed to last the life of the scanner thereby eliminating the cost of replacement bulbs and the production costs and waste of replacement bulbs as well. Since there are no replacement bulbs needed for these scanners, there’s nothing new to throw away. Speaking of consumables, like scanner bulbs, companies making document imaging scanners are also manufacturing other consumables (pad assemblies, pick rollers, roller assemblies) with longer life spans. Fewer consumables are needed and the ones that are needed, last longer. The manufacturer’s that are seemingly taking the lead on this front include Fujitsu, Canon, and Kodak/Bell & Howell.

Better materials used in the manufacturing of document imaging scanners is not the only advancement that is happening that exemplifies this industry embracing green initiatives. The design of the hardware is changing as well. Manufacturers like Fujitsu are designing and building scanners that have significantly smaller footprints – the space they take up on the desk or the tabletop in the working environment. Take for example the Fujitsu fi-6800. This is a full–fledged mid-volume production scanner that is the smallest document scanner in its class. The trend is moving toward fewer materials being produced to make these machines and therefore less energy is being consumed. This translates into less waste and fewer emissions into the environment, as is obvious.

Since these new scanners are more intuitive as a result of new technology and better design, they can recognize in advance multi-feed issues, so the user can adjust settings as necessary. Bottom line – the user can become more efficient at document scanning and do more, in less time.

With new technology and better design comes new efficiency and related side benefits including using fewer materials and generating less waste and fewer emissions. It’s encouraging to know that the ECM Industry continues to do its part.

Is this a common question in your organization? Well, good news. There are scanners that can scan documents that are larger than 8 ½” by 11”. Even 8 ½” by 17”! In our industry, we call them Large Format Scanners.

Large Format Scanners can scan documents up to 58” wide and up to several feet in length. The scanned image can also look better than the original – just like with production and desktop scanners. Large documents can be scanned in resolution of up to 600 dpi. The speed of these scanners is impressive as well – up to 16” per second. Another great feature of these scanners is that they require few or no consumables to maintain their performance. The manufacturer leaders in this industry include ImagePRO and Contex/Vidar. Both of these manufacturers ship equipment with a standard 2 year on-site warranty agreement – a great add-on feature. The ImagePRO line also uses LED technology which provides instant-on color calibration translating into no waiting time for calibration.

Businesses/organizations in which Large Format Scanners are commonly found include Architectural firms, counties’ assessors’ offices, galleries, geological surveyors, companies that produce maps, public utilities divisions, photography studios, manufacturers of airplanes and trains, etc.

The scanned image can be seamlessly imported into your existing enterprise content or document management system. Typical software shipped with these scanners allows you to scan the document to a JPEG, PDF, or TIFF. You can also scan-to-net as well. In terms of drivers, most large format scanners work with TWAIN and in terms of interface, they use SCSI III, USB 2.0 and/or Ethernet. These scanners ship network ready.

At the end of the day, feel confident that no matter how physically large yours document are, there is a scanner out there that can capture them, and give you the benefits of digital storage and deliverability that you have grown accustomed to in your normal day to day business with normal sized ones.